Aussie stocks higher at noon

AUSTRALIAN stocks were firmer at noon as the big banks and miners led the broader market higher in quiet conditions. At 1210 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 29.6 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 4292.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index had risen 29.6 points, or 0.68 per cent, higher at 4363.3. On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract had gained 35 points to 4283 points, on volume of 17,247 contracts traded. The local market opened about 0.9 per cent firmer, but eased back in morning trade amid lacklustre trading volumes. "It's very quiet," Bell Potter senior adviser Stuart Smith said. "The private investors are already committed and they are just sitting there spectating and thankful that the market is going up." The best-performing sectors at noon were financials and industrials, up 1.09 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively, according to Iress data. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Australia's big retail banks were higher. ANZ was up 35 cents at $20.56, CBA had risen 45 cents to $48.41, NAB was 38 cents firmer at $23.82 and Westpac had advanced 23 cents to $20.65. Investment bank Macquarie Group was the best performing stock on the S&P/ASX20, having climbed 3.21 per cent, or 80 cents, to $25.69. Making news today, Macarthur Coal advised its shareholders to accept a revised, $4.8 billion joint takeover offer by the world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal and US coal miner Peabody Energy. The miner was up eight cents at $15.88. Among the big miners, BHP Billiton had risen 34 cents to $39.49 and Rio Tinto was $1.33 higher at $71.94. The local market received a positive lead from Wall Street, where the Dow gained 2.26 per cent and the S&P500 climbed 2.83 per cent as the threat from Hurricane Irene eased and in response to encouraging US consumer spending data. In the retail sector, Harvey Norman said net profit for 2010/11 rose nine per cent to $252.26 million and presented a cautious outlook for the year ahead. The stock was up five cents at $2.08. The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1,796.06 per ounce, down $21.82 from Monday's local close of $US1817.88 per ounce. National turnover at 1210 AEST was 1.23 billion securities changing hands for $1.94 billion. Some 574 stocks were up, 290 were trading down and 332 were steady.